[CC Lemon]

I'm getting ahead of myself a bit here (still waiting on new headphones and then going to have to wait a little before I can spend money), but I'm considering either a decent home digital setup or a vinyl setup. I searched around and mostly found set ups starting well over my price range. To start off, I'd like to keep it in the $300 price range. It would most likely be one of those projects that I kind of upgrade over time. So is it possible to get a worth while setup with that kind of price limit or should I just not even think about it till I have more money?

What would be the bare minimum components I should be looking at and what factors of each should I be considering? From what I can tell, I definitely need a pre amp as well as an amp, and obviously a turntable. Aside from understanding those basics, I still cant figure out if it can be affordable. The few threads I've read make it seem like it's not worth it unless you've got near $1000 invested in a setup.

 

[Armaegis]

Do you have a home theater/receiver already? If you do, it likely already has a phono input so you won't *need* a phono preamp. For the budget conscious, check out your local classifieds/flea markets/pawn shops for the turntable. There's a lot of old junk out there, but every once in a while a real gem shows up for cheap.

 

[CC Lemon]

Unfortunately, I dont have a receiver. How do I know what's good for a turntable?

 

[punkaroo]

CC, have a look at this thread for low budget turntables:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f7/low...source-228059/

I highly recommend a vintage receiver too. Marantz sounds amazing. I also have an older integrated amp from Rotel that knocks my socks off. This way you can keep your costs low while enjoying some sweet vintage equipment! Have fun!

 

[juniperlater]

You could easily find an old Pioneer or (less likely) Marantz for under $100 on Craigslist. Add a table from the Low Budget Vinyl source. Then get a nice new cartridge installed like a Grado Black (under $60 on ebay). You would be set. Sure I have $1000 in my table, cartridge, and phono pre, but I remember the days of the NAD 7100 receiver and BIC 980 table and Grado Blue. That system was was under $300 and was great.

 

[CC Lemon]

I'm looking on ebay for some turntables right now (didn't find anything near me on craigslist really).

I did remember one useful thing... my parents old theater set up. One of the speaker channels stopped working for the most part on the receiver, but I believe everything else is in working order. I'll give a test when I'm visiting over the holidays.

I found it on amazon... Amazon.com: Sony STR-DE335 Home Theater Receiver: Electronics

Should that do a decent job?

 

[CC Lemon]

Any comments on the receiver being of good use or not?

 

[ssportclay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CC Lemon /img/forum/go_quote.gif Any comments on the receiver being of good use or not?

This receiver does not have a phono jack on the back which is very common with newly manufactured units. You cannot run a turntable without the added expense of an outboard phono preamp which was the major point of getting a used receiver to run a turntable. Pass it up and keep shopping.

 

[CC Lemon]

What about the one on the front? I thought the idea was running the turntable into the receiver via RCA then using the phono output to the amp. Maybe I misunderstood though, so please set me straight if I'm wrong.

 

[juniperlater]

You can buy a phono amp and hook it to the aux input. That works fine. Your receiver just doesn't have its own phono amp. Some receivers do have one; yours does not.

 

[CC Lemon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by juniperlater /img/forum/go_quote.gif You can buy a phono amp and hook it to the aux input. That works fine. Your receiver just doesn't have its own phono amp. Some receivers do have one; yours does not.

That definitely seems like it would be problematic. Out of curiosity, what's the point of having the phono jack if it isn't amplified? I guess it could be useful for switching around sources or something... Where were you able to find out that it doesn't have a phono amp?

 

[Horio]

I'd take a look at picking up a used Rega. If you can stretch your budget a little bit you might be able to get a used Rega P3 w/cartridge off Audiogon. The P3 is a sweet table and you can always upgrade the cartridge later, and there are a bunch of tweaks you can do later on (speed controller, platters, etc). I would not feel guilty putting a nice cartridge on this table. I almost went with this table over my VPI Scout.

 

[sschell]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CC Lemon /img/forum/go_quote.gif That definitely seems like it would be problematic. Out of curiosity, what's the point of having the phono jack if it isn't amplified? I guess it could be useful for switching around sources or something... Where were you able to find out that it doesn't have a phono amp?

The signal that comes from a turntable is very low, so low that a normal line-level preamp/receiver can't amplify it enough. A phono preamp amplifies the incoming signal to a level that a receiver can work with. It also performs RIAA equalization.

Edit: Also, it can be pretty much guaranteed that any modern home theater receiver (anything beyond stereo) won't have a phono input.

 

[ssportclay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CC Lemon /img/forum/go_quote.gif That definitely seems like it would be problematic. Out of curiosity, what's the point of having the phono jack if it isn't amplified? I guess it could be useful for switching around sources or something... Where were you able to find out that it doesn't have a phono amp?

The purpose of a phono jack is to amplify and equalize the low signal from the tonearm and automatically run it through the normal preamp of the receiver. In other words, the phono jack on the receiver has a phono preamp or phono stage in it. The Sony 335 does not have a phono jack so you will also have to buy a separate phono preamp. You could run a turntable into your phono preamp and then run the phono preamp into the Aux. jack of the receiver or any line level jack like the CD input jack. This is not problematic. It will just cost you more money buying an extra phono preamp and an extra interconnect. Any receiver already equipped with a phono jack will save you money when it comes time to hook in a turntable.

 

[CC Lemon]

I guess I'm very confused. How should I be setting this up and via what types of connections. It sounds like you guys are saying I'm looking for something with a phono jack input on the receiver. I've looked at quite a few turntables that fit in my range and it seems that the typical connection from them is RCA. Above, it was said that I could use a receiver as a pre-amp, which I would assume is the second device in the line. The idea is to go from turntable -> pre-amp -> amp -> headphones, correct?

I'm not trying to challenge you guys or anything, I'm just not understanding the order of connections and what type of connections I should be using. The phono input keeps being brought up but I don't see where that's supposed to come into play. Sorry for dragging out something that's probably a lot simpler than I'm making it out to be.